Byte Savvy Newsletter

Computer Classes

Microsoft Excel 2003 - Next class scheduled for April

QuickBooks 2007 - Next class scheduled for May

Microsoft Word classes also available

Schedule subject to change

Call us at 257-5050 or e-mail us for more information

Volume 4, Issue 3, 3/1/2007

Visit Us Online! www.bytesavvy.com

■ Training ■ Web Design ■ Video Conferencing

■ Software, Hardware & Network Solutions ■ Disaster Planning & Recovery

Text Box: The official spelling is Daylight Saving Time, not Daylight SavingS Time. The implementation of Daylight Saving Time has been fraught with controversy since Benjamin Franklin first conceived of the idea. History & Info Date change in 2007 On August 8, 2005, President George W. Bush signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005. This Act changed the time change dates for Daylight Saving Time in the U.S. Beginning in 2007, DST will begin on the second Sunday in March and end the first Sunday in November. And that change presents the possibility of computer and network headaches for individuals across the United States. It’s starting to sound like Y2K, the pre-2000 fear that computer systems would crash, and airplanes would fall from the sky as every computer would recognize the "2000" as "0". While some minor incidents occurred, the end-of-civilization scenarios that some doomsayers foresaw never took place. David Millman, Chief Executive of Rescue COM, said that while there probably won't be any major problems from the daylight saving time change, doing some due diligence, such as checking with a device maker's Website now should provide the necessary insurance to avoid headaches later. It's advised that a person take some steps and look up some information that could help prevent their electronics from suffering any minor time-change related issues. Most problems can be avoided by checking with network operators or device makers Websites for information on how to download software patches that can program the device to recognize the switch to the earlier daylight saving time start. Microsoft Corp offers information on its Website explaining that running the new Windows Vista operating system, or Windows XP with the company's Service Pack 2 upgrade, will have no problem with the time change. However, other versions of Windows require visiting Microsoft's Website in order to get information about how to download any necessary patches that will properly reset their computer systems. "It's a challenge. And it's more than just resetting a clock. But spending some time looking into the matter should help take care of problems," Millman said.

Text Box: The first electronic digital computer called "ENIAC" was built in 1945 in Philadelphia. It used so much electricity that lights in the nearby town dimmed every time it was used! Computers began to steadily and rapidly increase in speed and power while becoming more compact and more user friendly from the early 1980's on. The first home personal computer or PC, was put out by IBM in 1981. When hard disks or computer hardware were invented in the 1950s, they started as large disks up to 20 inches in diameter holding just a few megabytes. They were originally called "fixed disks" or "Winchesters" (a code name used for a popular IBM product). The Internet was the result of some visionary thinking by people in scientific and military fields who saw great potential in allowing computers to share information on research development and to provide a communications network that would work even if some of the sites were destroyed by nuclear attack. Then known as ARPANET, the internet was brought online in 1969 under a contract let by the renamed Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) which initially connected four major computers at universities in the southwestern US. E-mail was adapted for ARPANET by Ray Tomlinson of BBN in 1972. He picked the @ symbol from the available symbols on his teletype to link the username and address We have come a long way in computer technology since the ENIAC. Now eighty percent of American households have at least one computer, and most households have one computer exclusively for the use of PC games, music, videos, and surfing the web. Click here to read the entire article.

Excerpted from Buzzle.com article, “History of Computers.”

Text Box: Microsoft Office Tip - DROP CAP

1. Select the first letter of a paragraph, and then select Drop Cap from the Format menu.

2. In the Drop Cap dialog box, select either Dropped or In margin.

3. If you want this letter to stand out even more, choose a different font for it.

4. In the Lines to drop text box, decide how many lines you want this letter to take up-for example, 3.

5. In the Distance from text box, determine how far away you want the drop cap to be from the regular text, and then click OK.

Excerpted from marketwatch.com article, “Acting Early can Alleviate Daylight Saving Issues”

Text Box: Visit Us Online www.bytesavvy.com If you have questions or comments, or if you wish to be removed from our mailing list please e-mail us at leeann@bytesavvy.com Byte Savvy Computing Services, LLC 309 S. Main St. Kalispell, MT 59901 (406) 257-5050

When you are writing a story, poem, or report, you can make the first letter of the paragraph larger than the rest of the text and drop it down a few lines. A drop cap is an effective way to jazz up documents. Take a look at some books, magazines, and newspapers. You'll notice that many publications use the drop cap.